Skeleton Key
by Cottonpaw
Summary: “Are you mad?” he exclaimed. “You’re mental! Searching dad’s office? He’ll kill us all!” “Just for a few minutes?” she pleaded. “I’ve got to see what this key opens!” Her eyes became wide and filled with tears. ONESHOT. Post DH.


**Hello! This is a story I wrote for writing. The theme was, "You find a trunk that contains a key in your attic. Tell a story about what the key opens." I instantly thought of Harry Potter, so this is the outcome!**

**I'd like to tie this in with my last Harry Potter story, I Scream for Ice Cream.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not even the plot. I just put two and two together.**

Warm sunlight streamed through the garage door, revealing a small, red-headed girl of ten. She smiled at the sight of her older brothers, James and Al, covered in dust from head to toe.

"Thought I might find you here." She said cheerily, striding through the piles of boxes the boys were sentenced to organize. "Too bad you can't come play. I'm going swimming, it's a lovely day. Then later, mum's going to play Quidditch with me. She told me she'd teach me this flight tactic that is so advanced, even dad couldn't get it right strait away." She perched herself on the old work bench. "But you have to be in here for the _whole day!_"

"Shut up, Lily." James muttered, hefting a box and carrying it to another pile.

"It's not my fault you two can get into so much trouble." Lily said defensively, still smiling.

"It's not our fault you have to cry every time you don't get what you want!" James snapped, not looking up from the box he was trying to open.

"_Me? You_ are the one who blew up that bathroom!" she screeched. "Why would you even bring fireworks into a muggle ice cream parlor anyway?" There was no reply. Shaking her head, she jumped off the table and walked over to an old chest she saw in the corner. "What's in here?" she asked, peering inside.

"Oh, that's empty." Al said. James knocked over a tower of boxes and watched helplessly as they fell with a bang. Swearing furiously, he made a desperate attempt to collect the boxes' contents. Ignoring him, Lily examined the box with curiosity. Something glittering caught her eye and she seized it.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed. Al rushed over to see what his sister had found, excitement in his eyes. The excitement quickly faded when he realized what it was he was looking at.

"It's just an old skeleton key." He clarified. "Probably doesn't open anything."

"But what if it does open something?" she wondered. "I'm going to find out what! It's like a treasure hunt!" James rolled his eyes. "James, I need your help." She tugged on his sleeve. "Just distract dad while I go search his office." James whipped around to face her.

"Are you mad?" he exclaimed. "You're mental! Searching dad's office? He'll kill us all!"

"Just for a few minutes?" she pleaded. "I've got to see what this key opens!" Her eyes became wide and filled with tears.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" He yelled. He grabbed Lily's hand and roughly pulled her out the door, Al not far behind.

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"Hey, dad?" Harry Potter slowly looked up from his copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and peered at his son over the top of his round-rimmed glasses. That made James nervous. "I need help deciding something." Harry gave him a questioning look. "Erm, there's this box and I want to know if I should throw it out or not. Could you come look at it?"

"Is this really something you need me for?" Harry asked. James nodded and breathed a sigh of relief when his father folded up the _Prophet_ and stood up. As he opened the back door, he saw Al and Lily sneak down the hall. Now, how is he going to stall Harry and avoid landing himself in two more weeks of grounding?

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Lily cautiously opened the door to Harry's office. She tiptoed inside and immediately began trying the key in all the locks while Al kept look out. Finally, she arrived at the last cabinet. Barely breathing, she stuck the key in the lock and twisted. There was no click.

"Darn." She said. "That was the last one." She told her brother.

"Best get back to the garage then." They closed the door and slipped outside.

Sprinting across the garden, the two reached the garage and flung the door open.

"James, it didn't work." Lily called. "I couldn't get anything…..to.…..open…….." she trailed off at the sight of her father propped up against the wall; James sulked next to him. She shrank under Harry's gaze.

"Oh, bugger."

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Lily absently swept the floor. She jumped when something crashed behind her. James had knocked over another box. Sighing, she went to help.

"I can't believe I have to help you clean this disaster." She complained.

"You're the one who went into dad's office and got us into even more trouble." James shot back. "Thought we were being arrested."

"Well, if you two hadn't gotten in trouble in the first place, I would have never found that bloody key!"

"Oh, sure. Blame it on us."  
"Why would dad have a key to open something when he could use magic?" Al wondered aloud. James froze.

"I'm going to bloody kill you." He snarled at his brother. "Why didn't you think of that in the first place?" All shrugged and went back to work.

Lily wandered over to that old trunk that she had found earlier, fingering the key she had in her pocket. Realization struck her like a punch in the stomach. She bent down and stuck the key in the lock. There was a click. Groaning, she showed her brothers her discovery.

"You've got to be kidding me." James muttered. "We went looking for something, got in trouble, and then found the thing right under our bloody noses?!" Lily nodded and smiled sheepishly.

Al laughed hysterically.

**Hope you liked it!**

**Remember: if you didn't read I Scream for Ice Cream, you really should. =]**

**Love reviews!**

**~Cottonpaw**


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